Alright, adventure seekers! Imagine the perfect camper, ready for the great outdoors. But, what if it hides some mysterious past? Yep, sometimes you may not discover the hidden damages until you drive it back home!1
Thankfully, a VIN lookup can help.
What is a VIN lookup?
Let’s start with the basics. A VIN (Vehicle Identification Number) is like your camper’s ID. It holds secrets like where it was made, what model it is, and more. A VIN lookup? It’s just typing this ID into a magic box to get a report that spills the beans on your camper’s history.
Below is an example of how to decode a VIN number:
What’s inside a vehicle history report?
A comprehensive vehicle history report usually includes the following information:
- Detailed History
- Sale Listings
- Damage History
- Theft Records
- Maintenance
- Ownership History
- Recalls
- Market Value
- Ownership Cost
- Vehicle Specs
- Warranties
- Vehicle Safety
Note that a VIN lookup won’t retrieve the owner’s information. Users who know that someone has the VIN number of the car they own can rest assured because your name, address, and phone number will not be obtained by them, unless they have legitimate reasons and send their requests for this information.2
How to do a camper VIN lookup
Vehicle History Report
1. Enter VIN 2. View Report
To run a camper VIN lookup, you can use the NICB’s free VINCheck service. It will assist you in determining if it has been reported as stolen, but not recovered, or has been reported as a salvage vehicle by cooperating NICB member insurance companies.
Or you can check with your local DMV by either calling them or going in person. You may need to provide some personal information and incur a fee.
If the options above can’t pull up the information you’re searching for, or you’re looking for an easier way to perform a VIN lookup, you can use some online tools.
Here we recommend BeenVerified, Bumper, and EpicVIN. They are all NMVTIS-approved providers of vehicle history reports. So you can expect to gather accurate and most up-to-date information about the camper to help you make an informed decision.
(They are subscription-based services. But they save you a considerable amount of time and guesswork when hunting down your next camper. )
Now, have your VIN number and the rest is a breeze.
BeenVerified VIN Lookup – 10+ years of experience
BeenVerified is a legit VIN lookup tool that compiles reliable, regularly updated information from NMVTIS, JD POWER, NHTSA, and many other top industry leaders. With 10+ years of data expertise and over 100 million searches performed, BeenVerified is your go-to choice for public data access.
Aside from the basics of the vehicle, you can conduct a search on an individual. All sorts of information can be accessed in one place.
Below are the steps you can take to do a VIN lookup on BeenVerified.
1) Visit BeenVerified’s search page.
2) Select Vehicle Search.
3) Enter the VIN number into the search box and click SEARCH.
4) Wait for the system to find the VIN in the database. Then you should receive a report that contains the information helpful for your purchase decision.
Got Questions?
- Call: +1-866-885-6480
- Drop a note: support@beenverified.com
- Open daily 6 am – 11:30 pm EST
Bumper.com VIN Lookup – Where simplicity meets depth
When searching for information about a vehicle, Bumper is a great place to get started. It offers two major search types, searching by a VIN or searching by license plate, enabling users to unlock the details of a vehicle.
To run a search on Bumper, you can follow the easy step-by-step guide below.
1) Visit Bumper’s search page.
2) Input the VIN number into the search box and click SEARCH.
3) Wait for it to comb through the database and find your match. Then you should be able to get a detailed report.
Need Help?
- Call: +1 332-225-9745
- Email: support@bumper.com
- They’re open pen daily 6 am – 11:30 pm EST
EpicVIN VIN Lookup – Focus on reducing uncertainty and fraud
With its user-friendly interface and extremely efficient service, EpicVIN is a great place to get your VIN checked. Aiming to reduce uncertainty and fraud, it empowers you with an informed insight into a camper’s history.
If you shop on Craigslist, Cars.com, Autotrader, and any site that lists VIN numbers, you can add the EpicVIN Chrome Extension to instantly see free reports!
Below is how you can run a VIN number search.
1) Navigate to EpicVIN’s search page.
2) Feed in the VIN number and click Check VIN.
3) Patiently wait for it to search its database and pull up the information you need. Once a report is ready, open it.
Stuck Somewhere?
- Give them a call: +1 954 639 4497
- Write to them: info@epicvin.com
FAQs: Your Handy Questions Answered
Q: Can I check a VIN number for free?
A: Yup, but freebies only share basic stuff. For the juicy details, you might want to consider a paid option like Carfax. However, Carfax can be pricey. You can opt for the one that’s more affordable, Bumper.com, for example.
Q: How do I check a car’s history for free?
A: If you’re eyeing a ride from a fancy dealership, they might toss in a free vehicle history report.
Hope this guide helps with your vehicle purchase. Bear in mind that a detailed vehicle history report isn’t sufficient. You should have a test drive before your payment. A Reddit user shared his/her experience of purchasing a vehicle that had been in collisions despite seeing the report with a clean title.3 To spot hidden damages, you should have a test drive and hire a mechanic to inspect the vehicle.
- [orionmoo]. (2014, June 16). Damage after purchasing used car. [Online forum post]. MSE Forum. Reddit.
https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/4995907/damage-after-purchasing-used-car ↩︎ - r/cars. (2016, April 20). What information can be obtained from a VIN number? [Online forum post]. Reddit. https://www.reddit.com/r/cars/comments/4fnq8l/what_information_can_be_obtained_from_a_vin_number/ ↩︎
- r/legaladvice [Paullys91]. (2023, January 31). Bought a certified pre owned vehicle with 4000 dollars worth of body damage. [Online forum post]. Reddit. https://www.reddit.com/r/legaladvice/comments/10pxohi/bought_a_certified_pre_owned_vehicle_with_4000/ ↩︎